Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old Norse
Origin: bleikr 'pale, white'

bleak

 adjective
     
bleak
1 without anything to make you feel happy or hopeful
a bleak future/prospect
The company still hopes to find a buyer, but the future looks bleak.
2 cold and without any pleasant or comfortable features:
a bleak January afternoon
The landscape was bleak.
—bleakly adverb
—bleakness noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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